NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Police officers in Metro Nashville are learning how to spot elderly abuse.

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A baby boomer turns 50 every seven and a half seconds in the United States, and officials said elderly abuse is an under-reported crime, so the city is planning ahead.

Donelson Senior Center resident Barbara said she doesn’t even realize some numbers slip away with just one question. She said for her, it came with a phone call.

"Is your last four digits of you Social Security number so and so and so and so, and before I could think, I said, 'Yes,'" she said.

"What I do see, quite often, are cases of financial exploitation," said Heidi Bennett, a counselor with Metro's division of domestic violence.

Bennett said people who target elders are now the focus of the program that joins police and the YWCA and that she will soon be training officers on how to spot and investigate elder abuse.

"The comings and goings in the household can kind of tip us off as to who is constantly surrounding this elder person," Bennett said.

"Elder abuse is something that is really hidden now in Tennessee," said YWCA representative Carolyn Kaminski.

Kaminski said only one in 23 cases of elderly abuse is reported and that relationships are often why.

"About 90 percent of victims are related to perpetrators," she said.

"(It’s) the thought of being placed in a nursing home, and so they'll do anything to avoid that possibility from happening, and that means silence," Bennett said.

"We're easily taken advantage of. We were taught to trust people, and we still do," said nursing home resident Karen Alberson.

The district attorney's office and adult protective services are also taking part in the enforcement program that’s being funded with a grant provided by the Office of Violence Against Women.

Tennessee is one of 10 states awarded the grant.

If you know of an elder abuse case, the YWCA has a confidential hotline at 1-800-334-4628.